The Smith government released its 2024 budget on Thursday, and while it signalled a new fiscal approach that no longer relies so heavily on volatile resource revenue, Albertans must see real action and commitment over the long term.

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For context, resource revenue, which includes oil and gas royalties, skyrocketed from $3.1 billion in 2020-21 to $16.2 billion in 2021-22, which swung Alberta from a period of budget deficits to budget surpluses. In 2022-23, the government enjoyed the highest level of resource revenue on record and relatively high levels have continued in recent years, fuelling surpluses.

But just as resource revenue can unexpectedly skyrocket, it can also unexpectedly plummet because it’s driven by volatile commodity prices and depends on many other factors outside the government’s direct control (including the strength of the Canadian dollar). As a result, relying on resource revenue to balance the budget is a risky way to manage provincial finances.

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